Street-car fender.



PATENTED MAY 9, 1905.

G. H. BOLDUO.

STREET OAR FENDER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 22, 1904,

' UNITED STATES Patented May 9, 1905.

v GEORGE H. 'BOLDUO, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

STREET-CAR FENDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 789,201, dated May 9, 1905.

' Application filed A gust 22, 1904. Serial No. 221,696.

To all 1117mm, it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. BoLDUo, a

citizen of the Dominion of Canada, residing at Detroit, in the county of WVayne, State of Michigan, have-invented certain new'and useful Improvements in Street-Oar Fenders; andl do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and. to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a safety street-car fender; and .it consists in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed outparticularly in the claims.

The object of the invention is to provide simple and efficient means whereby the fender may be dropped upon the track by the motorman in case a person or some obstruction is encountered, the arrangement being such as to render the dropping of the fender automatic should the motorman fail to actuate it manually.

The above object is attained by the structure illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in 'which- Figure 1 is a fragmentary view, in side elevation, showing a portion of a car-frame upon which my improved fender is mounted. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing by dotted lines the position of parts when the fender is down. Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view of the parts shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 1 is an enlarged detail in section as on line 4 4: of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse section through the members of the fender-frame, showing in elevation one of the guide-bolts upon which the movable portion of the frame is adapted to slide. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view in perspective, showing the locking device to prevent accidental dropping of the fender through striking the track while the car is movingforward. 1

Referring to the characters of reference, 1 designates one of the side sills of a car-frame, to which the side bars 2 of the fender-frame are pivoted at their rear ends, as shown at 3. The forward ends of said bars 2 are supported in the slotted posts 1, which depend from the under face of the sills 1 and in whichsaid bars are permitted a limited vertical movement. Mounted upon the sides of the bars 2 are the slidable bars 5, whose forward ends curve downwardly, as at 6, and are connected by the cross-piece 7, which forms the front of the fender-frame. There will be employed upon the fender-frame a suitable netting or slatted work to afford protection to a person falling thereon.

The slidable bars 5 are connected with the forward ends of the bars 2 by means of the bolts 8, which pass through the longitudinal slots 9 in the bars 5 and screw into the bars 2. By this arrangement the bars 5 and that portion of the fender-frame carried thereby is permitted a longitudinal movement with respect to the bars 2 to the extent of the length of the slots 9.

Crossing between the side bars 2 is a crossbar 10. Depending from the sills or car-frame are the hangers '11, in which is supported the transverse rod 12. Pivoted upon said rod, at the opposite ends thereof, are the trip-arms 13, to one end of which the connecting-rods 14: are pivoted, the opposite ends of said rods being journaled upon the cross-rod 15, which connects the bars 6 of the fender-frame. The connecting-rods 14 are provided withsuitable turnbuckles 16 for the purpose of adjusting them longitudinally. When the forward end of the fender-frame is raised and extended, as shown in Fig. 1, the upper ends of the triparms 13 will engage under the cross-bar 1O and hold said frame in its elevated position. Should the front of the fender-frame strike a person or object upon the track, the bars 5 will slide rearwardly upon the bolts 8, thereby causing the connecting-rods 14 to actuate the trip-arms 13 to withdraw their upper ends from engagement with the cross-bar 10, when the forward end of the fender-frame, being without support, willdrop to the track, thereby preventing any object from passing thereunder.

The fender may be actuated manually by the motorman through the operation of the lever 17 which is pivoted to and passes vertically through the car-platform, its lower end being pivoted at 18 to the arm 19, having in its forward end a slot 20, through which passes the cross-rod 15 of the fender-frame, whereby upon throwing the upper end of said lever forward when the fender is in araised position the movable portion of the frame will be caused to slide rearwardly and trip the arms 13, thereby allowing the fender to drop, as before described.

To provide for holding the fender in contact with the track when it falls, there is employed at each side a dog 21, which is pivoted to the post 4 and is adapted to engage in the notches 22 upon the upper edge of the bars 5 as said bars are swung downwardly by the downward movement of the fender, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, thereby securely locking the fender down, so that it cannot rise over a person or other object lying upon the track.

.To prevent the fender being accidentally tripped by striking the track through the tilt ing of the car upon the trucks, as is common in single-truck cars, locking-pins 23 are employed, which are fixed to and extend across the top of the bars 2 and are adapted when the movable portion of the fender is extended to register with the inclined notches 24, formed in the upper edge of the bars 5, so that should the forward end of the fender strike the track because of the tilting of the car the movable forward part of the fender will rise, owing to the play afforded the bolts 8 in the slots 9, allowing the vertical shoulders of the notches 24 to engage the pins 23 and lock the movable portion of the fend er from sliding rearwardly, thereby holding it against being accidentally dropped because of the fender striking the track while the car is moving forward. The movement of said parts justdescribed is clearly illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 6.

After the fender has been dropped to the track it may be restored to its normal position by raising it and drawing it forwardly, so as to cause the upper ends of the trip-arms 13 to again engage under the cross-bar 10.

Having thus fully set forth my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A car-fender comprising sidebars pivot- I ed at their extreme rear ends, a movable forward section mounted to slide upon said bars, means for holding the fender-frame elevated and means for automatically dropping the fender-frame actuated through the sliding movement of the forward portion thereof.

2. A fender comprising the pivoted side bars, the movable forward portion mounted to slide upon said bars, means for maintaining the forward end of the fender in a raised position connected with said movable forward portion, whereby the fender may be dropped by a movement of said forward portion thereof.

3. A car-fender comprising a verticallymovable frame, a slidable forward section mounted upon said movable frame, trip-arms for holding the fender'frame in a raised position, means connecting the trip-arms to the movable forward portion whereby a movement of said forward portion will trip said arms and allow the fender-frame to fall.

4. A fender comprising pivoted side bars,

forwardly-extending bars mounted to slide upon said side bars, trip-arms for holding said fender in a raised position, means connecting said trip-arms with the movable portion of the fender-frame, and the locking-dogs for preventing a rebounding of the frame after the fender has been dropped.

' 5. A car-fender comprising the longitudinally-extending pivoted bars, a cross-bar connecting said bars, a forward portion of the fender frame mounted to slide upon said bars, trip-arms adapted to engage said crossbar to hold the fender-frame in a raised position, connecting-rods coupled to said arms and to the movable portion of the frame, and a lever for actuating said movable portion.

6. A car-fender comprising the pivoted side bars, the movable forward section mounted upon said bars and means for automatically locking said movable section against longitudinal movement upon said supporting-bars by contact of the forward end of the fender with the track.

7. A fender comprising the pivoted side bars, the forward bars of the fender-frame mounted to slide upon said side bars, having a notch in their upper edges, and the pins mounted on the side bars and adapted to engage in said notches when the forward end of the fender is raised and extended.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE H. BOLDUC.

Witnesses:

E. S. WH ELER, I. G. HOWLETT. 

